On the road again
by darkydarkblade
Summary: She graduated weeks ago and a new stage of life begins. Tonks starts with her Auror training. Will she cope with all the upcoming stress, or will she stumble ? And will there be anyone to catch her, if she falls ? -Click here to find out ; AM/NT as mentor/apprentice- Rating has changed to T, might go up to M later - NOT COMPLETED YET -
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer :** Most of the characters mentioned in this story do not belong to me. They belong to J.K. Rowling. Thanks for the amazing youth though. Harry Potter is a brilliant piece of fantasy, and I grew up reading all of the books and watching all the movies etc.

 **A/N :** I published the first chapter two days ago. I probably should have written more chapters than two, before posting it. Anyway, I wasn't happy with the start of the story, therefore I made up this prologue.

 **Hello world !** This is my first attempt in writing a fanfiction. I got intrigued with the relationship between Tonks and Moody. In the books it's hardly mentioned, so it looks like a huge, unexplored playground to me. :D Please excuse some grammar and vocabulary mistakes, as I am German. I'll try my best but will never be as good as a native speaker.

 **Summary :** She graduated weeks ago and a new stage of life begins. Tonks starts with her Auror training. Will she cope with all the upcoming stress, or will she stumble ? And will there be anyone to catch her, if she falls ? -Click here to find out ; AM/NT as mentor/apprentice- Rating has changed to T, might go up to M later

* * *

 **Prologue**

An explosion ripped through the silence and part of the ceiling came crushing down only steps apart. Dust was robbing his sight and making it difficult to breathe. Disorientated he turned around, a high pitched screaming noise in both of his ears. Shaking his head, he tried to focus again. He must find his colleagues. Was this passage barred now ?

His wand in hand he whispered, "Ventus purgare." The spell had cleared the air. There was a gap in the pile of ceiling fragments, which obviously was his chance to reach the upper floor, without losing too much time. Clenching his wand with his teeth, he climbed up carefully. He glanced around, before he dragged himself over the edge. This room was empty and it was a mess. Desks and chairs were shattered, a wall had collapsed as well. The ringing noise in his ears slowly subsided. Were there shouts coming from behind the broken wall ?

Crouching, he moved closer to peer over the pile of debris. There was a bunch of fighting people. He tightened the grip on his wand. Besides the unknown enemies, he could recognise Moody and Kingsley.

Before he could even decide on how to join in, someone grabbed his neck from behind, putting a stifling pressure onto his throat. He couldn't breathe anymore, but still, there was speechless magic. Whoever attacked him, was thrown backwards by a spell just a heartbeat later. He whirled around to face the unknown enemy, lying on the floor. He stunned him or her. He couldn't really explain what happened next. From somewhere above his head came a curse flying into his direction. He hadn't checked the ceiling. A major mistake. Seconds later, a flash of red light hit his chest.

He gasped as an excruciating pain ripped through his body. His vision got blurred as his limbs spasmed. His muscles burned viciously and his head felt close to exploding.

There was a scream. The scream of a woman. It was her.

Tonks.


	2. Departure

**Disclaimer :** Most of the characters mentioned in this story do not belong to me. They belong to J.K. Rowling. Thanks for the amazing youth though. Harry Potter is a brilliant piece of fantasy, and I grew up reading all of the books and watching all the movies etc.

 **A/N** This is the old chapter one, please note, that I just put up a prologue at the beginning of the story. Enjoy.

* * *

 **Chapter 1 - Departure**

Quite early in the morning, the sun hadn't started to rise yet, Nymphadora Tonks awoke to the buzzing sound of her muggle alarm clock. Grumbling something only she could make sense of, she stretched out her arm and hit the button to silence the diabolical thing.

Burying her face in her pillow once again, she curled into a ball underneath her blanket. "Only five more minutes..." she mumbled, still sleepy.

It wasn't long after, that her soft snoring could be heard again.

Fifteen minutes later the door to her room opened and Ted Tonks stepped inside, followed closely by his wife.

In the middle of the room they stood still and looked down at their daughters sleeping form. Sighing, Ted wrapped an arm around his wife. "Some things will never change it seems." he said, keeping his voice low. Both shared a loving smile before looking back at their daughter.

"I think you might be right. One could think that she didn't grow up at all." Giving a low chuckle at her response, he kissed his wife's forehead.

What a typical thing it was for their daughter to sleep in, even on an important day like this. A grin started to spread over his face.

"I might as well stick to old wake-up methods." Now it was Andromedas turn to chuckle. Ted started to move forward but she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Please wait one more moment." A silent tear was running down her cheek. He looked back at her and turned around, to gently wipe away the tear with his thumb. She sniffed once and he encircled her with his arms.

"Hey...she will be alright." Andromeda caught a glimpse at a still sleeping Nymphadora, who was oblivious to her surroundings.

Her husbands soothing words helped a bit. He knew what kind of thoughts were running through her head.

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was gone but there were still dangerous wizards out there. Their daughter had just finished Hogwarts and would start her Auror education today. Her decision to become an Auror was quite a shock to both of them. Some hard training and learning lay ahead of her. Unexpected as her decision was, they also knew what she was capable of.

She had always fought for people that got bullied at school. She stood up for them and became a target herself. She had a good sense for what was right or wrong. Injustice simply annoyed her. She was a caring person, full of energy, her mind was strong, but most important, she was friendly and honest. When there was something she wanted to achieve, she put all her force into reaching her goals. Her metamorphmagus skills would be valuable for her job. If there wouldn't just be so much danger involved. Couldn't she just do something different ? Something less dangerous ?

Giving a long sigh, Andromeda pulled back to look up into Ted's face. "I know that she can take care of herself. I just fear that she... that there comes a day where we get a message from St. Mungo's... or worse."

Giving her a reassuring smile and a short kiss he responded "Me too. But she is a fighter, we both know it. Our little rebel. She might turn the department upside down before noon."

Wiping away another silent tear, Andromeda smiled back at him. "You are right." She gave a short kiss in return. "Then wake our little rebel before it gets too late." She walked through the door to turn around, and to watch the scene unfolding inside the dimly lit room, with amusement.

Ted stepped towards his daughter's bed, to pull away her blanket. A low grumble emerged.

She mumbled "Daaaaaad let go!"

He chuckled and started to tickle her awake. She stopped fighting to get a hold of her blanket and started to giggle.

"Well, I thought it would be a bad idea to let you sleep in today." He stopped his teasing and kissed her cheek.

"You cannot catch criminals while being late." he said, stepping back from her bed.

Something clicked inside of her head and she jumped up, being fully awake now, just to become entangled in her blanket, and falling forward. "Easy darling." her father cached her just in time before she hit the ground.

"You still have one hour to get ready." She wiped a strand of neon green hair out of her face, her panic subsiding. She gave him a sweet smile "You're today's hero, dad."

He chuckled and left her room. "Good to know, cherub." Through the closed door he could hear her annoyed exclamation. "Stop calling me that!"

* * *

"Alright," she took a deep breath, put on the light and turned to her closet. "I can do this!"

Excitement built up inside of her, pushing away some nervousness.

Opening the closet door, she started her search for a proper outfit. She kept all of her tops on hangers, because it annoyed her to no end, to fold them again after searching a stack of clothes for a certain piece she wanted. She pushed some tops to the left, some to the right, before she found just the fitting thing.

"Here we go" she said to herself, before pulling out one of her favourite T-shirts. It was plain black, except for her favourite band´s label on the front, which showed AC/DC in bright red letters. Pretty worn out but she loved it anyway.

Besides some sports underwear, she also grabbed a pair of black jeans and her newest studded belt before heading to the bathroom.

She took a quick shower while humming Highway to Hell and got dressed.

Turning around, she took a look in the mirror. Neon green hair would not go with that shirt. Concentrating, she turned it into a shiny black, about shoulder length. She giggled.

'Na, I look like a goth. Which is not too bad actually, but too dark to start a new episode of my life.'

A heartbeat later she exclaimed "Yepp!" grinning at her reflection. 'Bright red for the win!' Swivelling around to face the door, she slipped and bumped right into it, head forward.

Rubbing her forehead, Tonks skipped to her room to put on some thick black leather boots. Another gaze in the mirror besides the door she decided, her appearance was almost complete. Almost. She wasn´t that I-always-need-a-handbag kind of woman. Instead, she had a considerable amount of gloves and sweatbands. Gloves were practical and also gave your wand hand a better grip. Besides those advantages...they were extremely cool! Today she would wear the finger free dark grey ones.

For a short moment she bounced up and down. 'I am becoming an Auror. I am becoming an Auror ! _'_

When Tonks excited her room, her left shoulder bumped against the door frame, as usual. Her excitement grew any minute. She took off to run down the stairs, stumbled at the bottom but didn´t fall.

Checking the time she decided to skip breakfast. Ten minutes to seven. Only ten minutes to get to the Auror department. "Shit!" all the nervousness came rushing back.

"You will be fine cherub." She turned around to look at her father and pulled a grimace. He was walking out of the kitchen and gave her a loving smile.

"Mhhhh, not without that one though." Her mother walked down the stairs and held out her wand.

"Ah. Right, thanks mum." She stuffed it into her trouser pocket. Her mother took note of her appearance with a slight sceptical look. "Honey, are you sure..." Andromeda didn't get to finish her impending question.

"Yes mum." Tonks rolled her eyes "I don't care if it's not the typical wizarding look." Andromeda shrugged. "I don't want to change you, love. Maybe it would just be better not to shock them right from the start." Tonks was pulled into a family hug by both parents. "Yeah but that's who I am!"

Tonks pulled away quickly, giving either parent a peck on the cheek. Rushing towards the wardrobe, she took her black motorbike jacket off the hook, causing several other jackets to drop onto the floor. Cursing, she bent down to pick them up, but her father hushed her towards the door. "Off you go cherub, I'll take care of it." She threw on her jacket and waved at her parents. "Thanks dad. Love 'ya both!"

The door clicked shut and seconds later she stepped onto the pavement, took a deep breath and apparated away.


	3. Arrival

**Disclaimer :** Skip back to chapter one

* * *

 _The door clicked shut and seconds later she stepped onto the pavement, took a deep breath and apparated away._

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - Arrival**

At five to seven, Tonks walked on the dark floor of the ministry´s atrium, past the fountain and towards the elevators. There were people. Many of them ! She was lucky not to stumble and fall. 'They wouldn't even notice me laying around and stamp me to death.'

Chuckling to herself she tried to hurry and squeeze her way through the crowd. It was impossible. Her appearance was indeed noticeable and not 'quite the norm' in other people's opinions. 'Fuck. I will never get there if those dumb heads continue staring at me and stand in my way.' After what felt like ages, 'Always feels like ages when you try not to be late and fail anyway' she mused, she arrived in front of the elevators.

One was about to leave, before the doors could close completely, she squeezed through and collided with a tall wizard. Her glared down at her. She grinned up at him

"Wotcher." Now he sneered.

'Tsk. Couldn't hold the smallest candle to Snape with that one, fella'

At that thought her grin widened, she decided to ignore the man and turned around. 'Come on...move quicker blasted thing. Move!'

Some more ages later, the lift reached level two. She stepped out quickly and jogged towards the auror department.

'About time. My ears would have shrivelled if I had to listen to one more lame floor announcement.'

* * *

Tonks started jogging down the corridor. All wizards and witches she passed, stared after her, somewhat dumbfounded. With slightly flushed cheeks she reached the office door. Tonks opened it and stepped in, hastily.

Glancing around she noticed that all of the open cubicles were empty. Where was everyone ? Several pictures and Daily Prophet clippings were lining the walls. Actually, it was her first time around in this office. She had passed the selection procedure at the end of her seventh year at Hogwarts, shortly after taking her N.E.W.T.s. That was, in fact, five weeks ago. Some of her fellow students wanted to become Aurors as well. Each applicant had to pass some psychological stress tests, different surveys and a sports test. Some ministry's recruiters had overseen the process, so she didn't get to meet an Auror until now.

The letter she had gotten three weeks ago stated, that she had succeeded with the first step of becoming an Auror. Many weren't capable of managing the pre-tests and she was curious who else got a look-in. All trainee Aurors would meet here today at seven in the morning. There were bureaucracy things that needed to be done. They would sign their articles of apprenticeship, get new robes and other equipment for education.

Glancing around the room again, she spotted a small group at the far end.

She walked forward to join them. Two girls and a boy about her age were standing there, obviously waiting for something to happen. She didn't recognise any one of them. "Wotcher." she greeted. They all turned around, looking at her irritated.

The boy arched his right eyebrow and sneered at her. The girls grinned at each other, trying to suppress a fit of laughter, but failing miserably. Tonks spoke up again "Yeah, nice to meet you too." All three narrowed their eyes, laughter dying on their lips. 'What a great start...maybe I should have -'

She didn't get to finish her thought, as a loud BANG disrupted the room's silence. The young adults were startled and jumped up, Tonks included. The former giggling girls let out a high pitch scream, while the boy seemed to panic. Tonks, as so often, stumbled and fell to the ground.

Getting up slowly, she took a look at the direction where the noise came from. A man on a wooden stick walked towards the small group. Was it him ? The Auror, Tonks had hoped to meet ? Alastor Moody ? He was a living legend. The most famous wizard of all time- or so they said.

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he bellowed, walking towards them quickly.

The three others stopped their screaming and panicking, and kind of tried to hide behind Tonks. She rubbed her ears, well those screams were certainly too high pitched for her liking. Not that she liked screaming people anyway. Still kind of agitated she couldn't hold her tongue.

"Wotcher mister, was that really necessary?" He came to a halt and towered in front of her.

"Constant vigilance!" he repeated, but this time it wasn't really shouted. Now that she got a closer look at him, Tonks had to admit that he really looked as intimidating, as the Prophet stated. The man just had to be him. Plenty of scars visible in his face, his head covered with strands of greying blonde hair. The most frightening part were his eyes though. His right one looked pretty normal but the other one...well yeah, frightening abnormal.

Both eyes fixed on Tonks as he spoke again with a gruff voice. "Dead meat, all of you. Could've killed ya' within seconds."

A shiver ran down her spine. 'Yepp. Pretty intimidating indeed...Merlin's balls, where did he get all that scars from!?'

None of the others dared to speak a word, so it was Tonks' turn again. "Then I'm glad that you are a good guy and not our enemy."

His facial expression turned into a scowl. 'Uh-oooh. Bad idea Tonks, bad idea. Why do I have to be that cheeky, for fu..-'

"I am not a good guy. Couldn't even call me nice. You're not here to get pampered. Look at me." he growled. "Look at my face. Do I look like a bloody nanny?" They shook their heads slowly, Tonks holding her breath. "So I thought." A chuckle escaped his throat, low and rumbling. Seconds later he continued.

"This is what the job is about. Fame ? Praise ? Forget about that. There are no god damn rainbows and fairies. No rules. This is reality." Tonks exhaled slowly as his index finger pointed at his magical eye. "What's going to happen then ? I tell 'ya. You will try to protect yourselves and catch them. They will try to blast you apart, rip you into pieces. If you're lucky they'll make it quick. Well..." with that, he finally stopped scowling at Tonks and gazed at one of the other girls.

Peering over Tonks' right shoulder, the girl gasped frightened. "What a gorgeous witch you are. I just noticed now... What's your name ?" Short moment of confusion later, a self-satisfied smile spread over the girl's face. Stopping to hide behind Tonks, she stepped aside. "Bianca, sir."

'Huh, what's happening here ?' Tonks' eyebrows rose slightly.

The Auror bowed his scarred head in admission. "A pleasure to meet you Bianca."

'Ummm...that was unexpected.'

Moody stepped some inches closer to the girl. Scratching his scarred cheek, he seemed to be thinking hard about something. "Right. At first I am going to rape you." They gasped in unison. An insane expression on his face, he went on."After a while I'll get bored. I could start with a finger. Or better an ear ? No, let's cut off one of your pretty little fingers first."

'What the hell?!' Tonks couldn't believe it. Was that really happening or was it just a bad dream ? She looked from Moody to the girl and back. Something was not right, she could sense it. That couldn't be Alastor Moody. Well...they called him "Mad-Eye"... but he couldn't be that mad ?! He was an Auror for fuck's sake !

The girl stood rooted to the spot. It seemed that she was too shocked to move, even when Moody stepped some more inches closer towards her. The former sneering boy and the other girl stumbled backwards.

Tonks couldn't think straight anymore. Shock and confusion filled every inch of her body. But thinking didn't matter, because in fact, she did know one thing for sure...she wouldn't let that happen.

"Leave her alone." she stepped forward, in between Moody and the girl. The girl she didn't even know. Her voice did waver a lot.

Moody's head snapped towards her, his eyes narrowed. "What ?"

Tonks took a deep breath, before repeating slowly, voice less wavering "I said, leave her alone."

'And I thought he was mad...where the hell did that just come from ? I probably couldn't even stand a minute against him. He will knock me unconscious in a blink of an eye.' Kicking herself mentally she drew her wand from her pocket and faced Moody.

Before anything else could happen, the office door got opened and a handful of wizards streamed inside. At the front of the group stood a bald-headed man with rather dark skin colour. All of them eyed Tonks curiously and some murmurs emanated. Half of them reached for their wands.

The bald man, who hadn't drawn his wand, walked towards Tonks and the others.

"Mad-Eye." he stated.

Moody turned around, his face blank now, and glanced over to the new arrivals. "Kingsley."

"What happened Mad-Eye ?" Tonks liked the bald man's voice. It was deep, calm and had a soothing effect on her. 'Alright, looks like we're safe now. What kind of a strange thing is going on here anyway ?!'

"He, he wanted to torture me !" The girl named Bianca spoke up with a high pitched voice. "He is insane !" she shouted, pointing at Moody.

The man in question threw back his head and gave a loud, barking laugh. 'Huh ? How can he laugh now ? Isn't he going to get in trouble ?' Tonks' mouth gaped open.

His laughter stopped abruptly. "Bunch of incompetent greenhorns they are."

Both girls behind Tonks made a kind of outraged noise.

The man - 'What did he call him ? Kingsley ?' - ignored Moody's comment. "You tested them Mad-Eye ?" he sighed. Moody simply stood there and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you weren't supposed to do that. I remember that there was a similar conversation last year."

Moody leaned forward, resting both hands on his wooden stick. "Send them home. Except for the red haired one."

Kingsley's eyebrows rose, and the murmurs coming from behind him, grew louder. "Do you mind to tell us how you got to that conclusion ? What did you do anyway ?"

Tonks eyes darted back and forth between the two. By now, her wand hung loosely at her side.

"Simply showed them what to expect."

Understanding dawned on Tonks. 'It was a test ! I had a strange feeling but got trapped anyway. He talked about sending _them_ home. Except for me. Why is that?'


	4. Torture and Tutelage

**Disclaimer :** Skip back to chapter one

* * *

 _"Simply showed them what to expect."_

 _Understanding dawned on Tonks. 'It was a test ! I had a strange feeling but got trapped anyway. He talked about sending **them** home. Except for me. Why is that?'_

* * *

 **Chapter 3 - Torture and Tutelage**

Bianca snorted angrily. "You were threatening us ! You told me you'd rape me." She turned from Moody to Kingsley. "And now you try to tell me that this was a kind of test ?"

Kingsley opened his mouth but Moody was faster. "Yepp. And you failed."

"This is scandalous. You are insane! I couldn't imagine a crazier thing and you call it test. TEST !"

The corner of Moody's mouth twitched. "Oh, I could for sure. Imagine something crazy, that is."

Kingsley attempted to save the situation. "I am sure we can sort this out. The morning didn't start as planned, I am afraid. We just had to attend to an emergency. I suggest we move this conversation to my office and begin anew."

'An emergency ? Sounds interesting.'

"I am moving nowhere !" The girl crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Kingsley's eyebrows rose higher, if that was even possible. Disbelief showed on the other aurors faces. This drama show didn't impress anyone, in fact they appeared to be quite offended at the girl's behaviour.

"Enough." another man stepped forward. "I suggest that you show some more respect girl. Mad-Eye is a weirdo, we all know that. But enough is enough."

"How flattering Dawlish." Moody grunted.

Tonks watched the conversation with interest. The former confusion forgotten already.

"Fine." Bianca snapped. "I will leave now. If anybody had told me how crazy you people are, I wouldn't have bothered to show up at all." She stomped forward but turned around, after taking a couple of steps. "Rose ?"

Everyone took a look at the other girl. Currently fidgeting with her bag's strap she eyed Bianca, obviously her friend, a bit insecure. "Alright." No more comments were made as both girls left the room in a hurry. One striding with her head held high, the other one with her eyes downcast.

Silence lingered for a while. 'Phew. Cannot say I am sorry. That was annoying.'

Kingsley sighed once again before turning around, to face his colleagues. "Well then. Time to get to work."

They headed to their desks, leaving the boy, Moody, Kingsley, Dawlish and Tonks standing there.

"Awesome Mad-Eye." Dawlish's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Quite. Wasn't just your nephew almost wetting himself. We'll be better off without them."

The reply came with a nod towards the boy, whose face instantly spotted a deep shade of red. Dawlish glared at Moody who simply stared back.

Tonks had to chuckle at Moody's comment. She started to like his directness and now, looking back, found it sort of amusing, how easy the Auror had managed to confuse and frighten them, herself included. Watching Moody and Dawlish, she was oblivious to Gerry, who was giving her the evil eye.

Kingsley harrumphed and interrupted the argument. "Welcome to the Auror Department you two. It's never getting boring around here, as you probably have noticed. My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt. Our leader, Rufus Scrimgeour is currently unavailable, so it's my job to get you settled in."

He smiled at Tonks and the boy. "Besides the emergencies and crime scenes, we busy ourselves with lots of paperwork. You can set up your cubicles later. Our leader and the senior Aurors got their own offices over there."

He pointed to a couple of doors to his left. "Those doors," he pointed at two doors to his right "lead to the locker rooms. Through those, you get access to the gym and our practice room. You'll get plenty of time to examine those during the next three years."

Tonks smiled at Kingsley. 'I cannot believe that this is happening. I am becoming an Auror ! Kingsley seems nice though. Moody seems...different. But I cannot say that I like that Dawlish guy so far.'

"Now follow me please, you need to sign your educational contracts." He took off to an office door. Tonks and the boy followed him.

"Wait a minute, Kingsley." Dawlish broke his staring contest with Moody. "Make sure to attach the mentorship form to Gerry's file. I'll come over to sign it later." A smug look spread over the boy's face.

Kingsley eyed the boy - Gerry - with interest before responding. "I'll see to it."

"Good." Dawlish smiled self satisfied and went to his own office, leaving a frowning Moody, a surprised looking Kingsley and a confused looking Tonks behind.

'Mentorship form ? What does that mean ?' She could hear some whispers coming from the cubicles nearby.

* * *

"...did you hear that ? "

* * *

"...Yes quite early don't you think?"

* * *

"...Mentorship form..."

* * *

"...he is his nephew after all..."

* * *

"Miss Tonks !?" Kingsley was holding his office door open for her, and gave her an expectant look.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she stumbled forward hastily. "Err, yes. Sorry."

* * *

Morning seemed to fly by. Tonks was sitting in her own cubicle around lunchtime.

She had signed her educational contract and got to know more about her curriculum for the following years. Duelling, Spells, Stealth and Tracking, Concealment and Disguise were main subjects. She would have to attend to those subjects, until she got her Auror certification at the end of her third year. Needless to say that she had to pass all the midterm exams, to be able to reach that goal.

There were several ranks among the Aurors. Right now, she was called a trainee Auror. Which was of course the lowest rank available. Trainee Aurors were not allowed in field work. Given that she passed her first midterm exams after one year, she would earn the junior Auror status. From there it would get more interesting. Depending on their skills, junior Aurors could be allowed to accompany senior Aurors in field work, to gain practical experience by firsthand observation.

Tonks leaned back in her chair and glanced over several objects that piled up in front of her.

'Oh my. And there I thought we had to work with umpteen books at Hogwarts. This is just...gross.'

She reached for her first lesson plan, somewhere underneath her stack of new robes and a gym bag which contained all of her sports gear, two large piles of books rested besides it.

'Soooo...tomorrow is Tuesday and starts with the Spells course, followed by a minor subject...Potions. I hope the fella' teaching that one is not similar to Snape.'

Each subject would be taught by Aurors with different specialities. Kingsley told them, that every one of them was an "expert in their field". He had also told Gerry and Tonks, that there could be last-minute changes of teachers and the lesson plan itself, due to sudden emergencies and upcoming cases. Tonks was intrigued with the fact, that her working schedule would always be unpredictable. She liked to act spontaneous and one obviously needed a huge amount of flexibility to be able to do the job.

She studied her lesson plan once more.

* * *

Monday : Athletic exercise ; **Duelling** -lunch break- **Concealment and Disguise**

Tuesday : **Spells** ; Potions -lunch break- Legal knowledge ; **Duelling**

Wednesday : Athletic exercise ; **Stealth and Tracking** -lunch break- Interrogation Technique

Thursday : **Concealment and Disguise** ; Healing -lunch break- **Spells** ; **Duelling**

Friday : Athletic exercise ; Free study time -lunch break- **Stealth and tracking**

* * *

'Mhhh. Four courses on Tuesdays and Thursdays, three when there is some sporty stuff in the morning.' Tonks read a note on the bottom of the plan.

 **The main subjects will be attended by the junior Aurors as well.**

'Man, I really hope the other apprentices are different from Gerry.'

Gerry Jackson. Her fellow trainee Auror. Today was their first day, but she already knew that he wasn't that type of person she wanted to be friends with. He sort of looked down at her. Why ? Just because his uncle was a senior Auror ? Besides that, his blue eyes resonated with a sort of frostiness she didn't like. 'Time to think about that later.'

Tonks grabbed one of her new robes. They were hooded, full-length ones, made of a thick cotton but feeling comfortable nonetheless. Gerry's and her robes had a lot brighter colour, compared to the others. Certificated Aurors wore deep scarlet red robes, at least when they were at the office. While doing field work it wouldn't be wise to wear uniform clothes, especially with a colour like that.

'Fair enough.' Tonks thought. 'A bunch of Aurors in shiny red robes, running around to catch criminals. Too conspicuous for sure.' She chuckled to herself, imagining a situation like that.

Putting the robe back down, she started to rummage through her books. She grabbed the ones, that covered courses she wouldn't deal with during her first year, and stored them inside the drawer underneath her desk.

Tonks got up and headed to survey the women's locker room, taking the gym bag with her. On her way she glanced over the huge amount of cubicles, most of them were empty again. There had been many witches and wizards coming and going during the morning. Some wearing office robes, some in casual clothes.

'Looks like most of them are taking their lunch break. Or was there another emergency ? I should have paid more attention to my surroundings, while looking through my new things.'

As she passed another row of cubicles, her right foot hit a table leg, causing her to sway and drop onto her knees. She cursed inwardly, making sure not to draw more attention to herself. When she stood again, her eyes met staring blue ones.

'Awesome, Tonks.' growing angry with herself, she shrugged and continued walking.

Gerry sneered at her, while arching an eyebrow. Just as she passed him, he muttered "Wrong career choice you clown." only loud enough for her to hear. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms, a smug look on his face.

Tonks stopped dead in her tracks. That caught her off guard. She frowned at him. 'Did he really just call me "clown" ? I imagined that for sure.'

"Clown." he whispered again.

'Oh. He really called me a clown.'

Tonks wasn't sure why this situation made her feel uncomfortable, she had always been able to simply ignore such nasty comments back at Hogwarts. His words stung somehow. Confusion took over and she wasn't able to think about a smart retort, so she decided to move on and leave him be.

* * *

'Did I do anything to provoke or offend him ? No.' She was sure that she hadn't done anything to offend him.

Tonks entered the locker room and leaned her back against the door once it clicked shut, after reassuring that it was empty.

Closing her eyes, she tried to calm her inner turmoil. She dropped the bag next to her feet.

'Get a grip ! He's just a stupid boy and this is day one of...well three years. We don't have to like each other and there are the junior Aurors. They just have to be different, and some of them nice, right !?'

How deeply she missed her friends...and then she got lost in her thoughts.

Tonks couldn't say how long she had been standing there, thinking about her friends and good old Hogwarts. Her growling stomach brought her back to reality. She checked the time.

'Shit, shit shit ! About five minutes left to put away my things before Kingsley returns.' He had shown Gerry and Tonks their cubicles, and left them to their own devices, so that he could enter a meeting. He said he would be back at two o'clock. And now she had no time to fetch any food.

'Alright, one starving day won't kill me.'

She picked up her bag and for the first time, took note of her surroundings.

Two rows of lockers were located in the middle of the room, standing back to back. The floor was made of light grey linoleum, walls and ceiling were painted in a warm yellow tone. Five doors lined the walls. Three to her right side and two in front of her, behind the rows of lockers. Those two were obviously the entrance doors to gym and practice room. One of the doors to her right stood ajar, so she peered inside.

'Ah, over there are showers. Okay, time to search for my locker.' Upon finding it, which wasn't that complicated because it was tagged with her name, she stuffed her bag inside.

* * *

Tonks left the locker room and walked straight into somebody. She staggered backwards and her shoulder hit the door frame. A groan escaped her throat. Then she looked up, to face... Alastor Moody ... whose mouth quirked at her actions. She eyed him questioningly.

"Thought you got lost in there." He stated, tilting his head towards the door behind Tonks.

"Err, no thanks." She felt a wave of heat rushing over her face. 'Don't blush, don't blush ! Damn, that's embarrassing.'

Tonks did blush indeed but he didn't comment on it. By all means, he couldn't know what was going on before, could he ? 'No way, so calm down.'

How wrong she was.

* * *

He had been watching the little incident from inside his office. Moody had stopped mourning for the loss of his real eye, until he found out how practical the magical one was. Yes, this time it proved to be useful again.

As curious and paranoid as he was, he was watching every single move those greenhorns made, since they stepped onto the second floor's corridor.

He had noticed her being late, and Dawlish nephew's arrogant behaviour. Oh how he hated tardiness, but he despised arrogance even more. Not to mention the incredible actions of those other girls. Screaming their heads off. He had been teaching them a lesson indeed, and was glad that they were gone, but it wouldn't have surprised him, if they had been running around like headless chickens as well.

Picking on that idiot boy in front of Dawlish had not been one of Moody's wisest decisions. But he had never been one for wisdom. Leave that up to people like Dumbledore. Unfair behaviour needed to be punished. No matter what.

Pushing those thoughts aside he, once again, focused on the red haired girl in front of him.

He didn't like what he had observed about half an hour ago. In fact he couldn't hear what the boy had been saying, but his facial expressions had spoken volumes. He was sure, that she wouldn't have left to hide inside the locker room, if those words had been "nice".

So there she stood in front of him, blushing. It wasn't that he cared, no. He didn't even know the girl. He sensed something special about her. His instincts never betrayed him. Well, at least most of the time. Some of his errors had been leading to lots of painful experiences. He had learnt from his mistakes, oh yes.

'Let them all laugh at me. Constant vigilance, at all cost.'

What was it, about the girl now ? Possibly just her unique appearance. Yepp. That was different for sure and made her special in a certain way. He studied her from head to toe, with both of his eyes.

"Sir ?" she frowned at him.

He grunted at that.

"Errm, sir ?" she repeated timidly, stretching the second word in an annoying way.

"Not necessary." he barked, louder than actually intended.

She flinched, looking rather confused. "What ?"

Rolling both eyes he leaned onto his stick. Wasn't it obvious enough !? "The formality."

She stood still for some seconds and he noted, that the blush had dissipated from her cheeks. "Oh. Fine. What to call you then ?"

Merlin's balls. Why was he standing here, and having this conversation again? Oh right. The incident and something interesting about that girl. "Moody will do."

She extended one hand to him and smiled slightly. "Hi Moody, I am Tonks."

He narrowed his eyes, both of them scrutinising her hand. Moody refused to shake hands. Avoiding body contact whenever he could, he wouldn't break one of his principles today, nor any other day. "I know who you are."

"Oh, that's 'cause of that constant vigilance thing, right ?"

Her cheekiness baffled him, but his countenance didn't slip. Would be best to ignore that comment. "Kingsley sent a memo. You can knock off for today."

"Good...but weren't we supposed to meet your, I mean our teaching Aurors today ?" she asked with a curious look on her face.

"Yes, but they're out in the field." Interesting. Most of the other trainee Aurors would have left without questioning my statement.

"What about you then ?" she asked, pushing her hands into her trouser pockets.

Moody frowned again. "None of your business girl." She was absolutely quite good at asking juicy questions. He wasn't one to share personal information with others. Just imagine what could happen, if those information got to the wrong person.

"Tonks. I'd like to be called Tonks."

He grunted once again and turned around to walk back into his office, his magical eye continued watching her.

She looked startled at his sudden departure, and scratched her head. Moody watched as she turned around herself after a while, and passed the boy, who was still sitting at his desk. She didn't notice him sitting there, or staring at her. She was stalking down the many rows of cubicles, and stopping by at her own desk, to grab her office robes and books and shrank them, so that she could put them away in her jacket pockets. Meanwhile, the boy glared holes into her back and continued staring at the office door, she had just been stepping through.

'What a poor boy you are. Her chuckling hurt 'ya pride, eh ? Too bad that she wasn't really laughing at you, idiot. You'd earn it for the behaviour you showed her. Let's see how long you'll be sitting there, until you notice that you could've gone home liker her.' Moody chuckled to himself. 'I am not going to tell 'ya.'

He reached for the flask in one of his pockets and took a sip. Yes, he would definitely keep a watchful eye on that boy, well, on Tonks as well. He would watch, if she really had it in her, like he assumed.


	5. Anxious or what ?

**Disclaimer :** Skip back to chapter one

* * *

 **Chapter 4 - Anxious or what ?**

When her first day was over, she exited the ministry to apparate to the Leaky Cauldron, because she didn't feel like returning home straight away. The colourful sight of Diagon Alley lightened up her mood slightly. She payed a visit to Florean Fortescue's Parlour, to munch a "giant size" tub of her favourite ice cream. While she sat there in one of those comfy chairs, eating and being surrounded by noisy chattering people, she thought about what to tell her parents.

Her parents were supporting her to fulfil her dreams. But they were also being anxious at her choice of career. Of course did she know, that it was because of the dangers involved with the job. So what would she tell them ? That she had felt uncomfortable around the department, because of a silly boy ? That the standard of an Auror, Alastor Moody, had been rude to her and that she didn't want to face him again ? No.

Not really knowing why, she decided then and there, that she would have to cope with the negative things coming up in the future, for herself. They might tell her "We told you so." Musing, Tonks thought that there was the possibility, that her parents would be happy if she would announce that she changed her mind, and didn't want to become an Auror anymore. And she didn't want think about that nor hear it. She wanted to do her own thing. A scene was unfolding right in front of her, as she stared off into space.

* * *

 _Tonks' parents were standing right in front of her, worry written all over their faces. Her mum shook her head, sorrowful. "Honey I told you so." sighing, she continued, "You should have dressed less flamboyant."_ _ **Less flamboyant.**_ _"I don't like to admit it, cherub, but I think your mother is right."_ _ **...is right.**_ _Suddenly they started to smile at her, lovingly. "But we don't need to worry anymore, right ?" her mother announced happily, looking over to her father, then back at Tonks._ _ **Right ?**_ _"It's not where you were meant to be, love. You shouldn't have gone there."_ _ **Shouldn't have gone there.**_ _"Don't worry, you will find something different you want to do."_ _ **...something different...**_

* * *

"NO !" she jumped up, and threw the spoon onto the table, breathing heavily. The chattering people around her stopped dead in their tracks. Some of them were staring at her, their mouths gaping open and ice cream dripping from their spoons onto the tables. 'Whoops, everyone is staring at me. I said that aloud, did I ?' Actually she had kind of shouted it out. It was then, that she hurried to the exit. 'I can do this. But I won't give them a chance to change my mind. I'll tell them how awesome my first day was, that everyone was nice, that I am excited about going back and all that. I really want to work there and I don't have to be friends with everyone.'

* * *

That was what she actually did, minutes later, upon arriving home.

Their parents greeted her happily and were curious to know what was happening through her day. She started babbling on, had shown them her lesson plan smiling, but left out Moody's strange emergence at the beginning, instead she told them about how nice Kingsley was.

She was trying to avoid the topic of Gerry, but thought that it would sound suspicious if she didn't tell them about any fellow trainee Aurors at all. Therefore, she mentioned him in some short sentences. Her mother had asked some questions about him but Tonks had shrugged and told her,

"Well, we didn't really get to know each other, you know !? Most of the time we were listening to Kingsley and afterwards we were left to our own devices, to put away our stuff and all that." As a result, her mother didn't ask more questions on that subject and Tonks had to hide how relieved she felt.

"And the others ?" her father had asked, while they sat at the dinner table.

"Well," she stressed, "they were coming and going all the time, you know. Pretty busy with their own stuff. So I really didn't do much more, than to exchange acknowledging nods with some."

"Did you see Moody ?"

"Yes." she mentioned casually, taking another bite of her steak.

"And !?" her parents claimed at the same time, eyeing her in disbelief.

"Well, he was there." she picked on some roasted potatoes. 'Oh please, can't this just stop ?'

"You have wanted to meet him all along, and now you shrug it off with a single word ?" her mother continued and exchanged a look with her father.

Tonks had to yawn. No wonder, she felt pretty exhausted. Putting down her cutlery, she gave them an excusing look. "He is just strange, and doesn't seem to talk a lot. Sorry you two, but I am really tired. I'll head to bed now. Good night." With that she got up, blowing them a kiss and rushed upstairs.

Her parents watched her leaving, speechless. This behaviour was just so unlike her.

* * *

Hours later, Tonks was lying in bed, desperately trying to sleep but simply couldn't. There were so many thoughts running through her head and unanswered questions coming up, that it drove her crazy. Glancing over to her bed table, she checked the time again. Eight to one in the morning.

'Bloody brilliant. My first course starts at seven and I need to apparate to the ministry, at least fifteen minutes prior. I don't want to be too late for a second time. Luckily nobody noticed, yesterday...oh hell I'll need to be getting up at six.' After turning around once more, she snuggled into her pillow, like countless times before that night.

Above all, she felt awful, thinking about the following day. There was an emotional lump building up inside of her throat for hours now, and it wouldn't go away. No, it only got worse the more she thought about it.

Moody had turned his back on her in the middle of a conversation. She didn't know how to put it. At first it was a strange conversation, he had surprised and startled her, then it became funny and interesting, and before she could say one more thing, he had just turned around and left her standing there. That was the second time someone hurt her feelings during that day. Maybe she had been too direct again, too cheeky ? Why would such a living legend be interested in talking to a girl like her, anyway ? He had approached her, to tell her about the memo hadn't he ? He truly was a weirdo. But an interesting one for sure.

Then, there was Gerry Jackson sneering at her and making that hostile comment. Why did he say it ? Was it about her hair colour, or because of her clumsiness ? She hated that weakness. No matter how hard she tried and concentrated, she would stumble again, fall over, or break something.

Her mum had told her hundreds of times, that it would be easier for her, if she accepted that her clumsiness simply belonged to her. Was a part of her. What an easy thing to say, really. Gerry had detected her weak spot and put his finger right into it. Oh man did that hurt. Who did he think, he was, huh ? And who was she ? Where was the old smart and cheeky Tonks, that she couldn't think of a clever retort in that kind of situation ?

She felt lonely. Was that the reason ? There were similar comments made back at Hogwarts, but then it hadn't bothered her. 'I miss my friends, yes. But wallowing in self-pity won't help. Come on Tonks. That was only day one. I'll meet the junior Aurors tomorrow, right at the start of the day. And they won't be like him.' She gave a long sigh. 'Okay I don't know for sure how they'll be, but one can still hope. And most important, I get the chance to live my dream and become an Auror. To hell with some nasty comments, that's worth it, right ?'

Enthusiasm returning, she felt reasonably relieved and was curious how her new "teachers" would be like. She slowly drifted off to sleep, thinking about her old teachers at Hogwarts.


	6. Questions

**Disclaimer :** Skip back to chapter one

* * *

 **Chapter 5 - Questions**

It was five minutes early, that Tonks arrived at the Auror Department on Tuesday morning.

She was wearing her new red robe and she had to admit, that they fitted her size just perfectly. The sleeves hung slack around her arms. All in all, it was tailored fine. Nothing like her former school robes, hiding all her curves. The rest of her outfit contrasted her robe's colour. Her hair, which was a shiny black today, was still about shoulder length. Blue jeans, grey sweater, leather boots and dark leather bracelets to complete her style.

As Tonks entered the office, she noticed quite a number of people coming towards her. Not towards her actually, they were heading to the door, so she stepped aside, watching them leave.

'Another emergency ?' she wondered.

Glancing around the room, her eyes fell upon Gerry, who was having a conversation with Kingsley.

"Yes, usually you would be right but for today we have to make an exception." After Kingsley finished his sentence, he greeted Tonks with a polite nod.

"Good morning."

She smiled at Kingsley and replied with a joyful, "Wotcher." Gerry didn't say a word. He looked upset about something and left for his desk, brows knitted.

Tonks was curious now. "Is there something wrong ?"

"Kind of. Half an hour ago, there has been a train accident in the London Underground. Several wagon's went off the rails. We don't know for sure how many muggles were injured nor what caused the accident. We have to make certain that no wizard or witch caused this. That's why we are investigating."

She listened afire. 'Well that sounds really interesting. I wish I could go there too and help. But what's the matter with Gerry then ? Why would he be upset about a train accident in this sort of way ?'

"That leads us to a little problem." he paused and Tonks looked at him questioningly. "As I've just told Gerry, I need to inform you as well, that your courses have been cancelled until noon. We need almost everyone available, particularly the Speciality Aurors. Good that you two were early, so I could tell you personally. In former times you will need to check your desk for any memo's, concerning such matters. It's the common communication path in the ministry."

She nodded. "Yeah, I heard that already. So what are we supposed to do until then ?"

"You are free to go. But return to your after lunch courses. You could also stay here and use the gym or practice room as they'll be free during that time. Some Junior Aurors like the opportunity to train on their own, once courses get cancelled. Anyway, I need to leave, too. Good day miss Tonks."

"Okay, good luck."

He left and Tonks looked around. 'Nobody's here, not even Gerry. Must have left when I listened to Kingsley. Now might be a good time to take a look at gym and the practice room.'

* * *

Tonks eyebrows rose up high. The gym's dimensions astonished her. 'Wow. This room is possibly as large as the great hall at Hogwarts.'

A terrace was located at the wall to her right, with several rows of seats, that reminded Tonks of a muggle soccer stadium. Looking up, she noticed that there were scoring hoops hanging up high from the ceiling, at the far end of the wall, opposite to where she was standing.

'Heck, they are playing Quidditch as well ?' She tilted her head back to find a similar pair of scoring hoops was hanging right above. 'Looks like it.'

However, the most impressive thing about the gym was the giant bathing pool in the middle of it. The water's surface was sparkling, and reflecting the light of, what looked like, hundreds of magical globes that were floating through the air.

Tonks moved to the pool's edge and peered down. Certainly, she could see the bottom, but it was deep for sure.

"Something interesting down there ?"

Tonks jerked around, startled, and swayed alarmingly close at the edge of the pool. Strong hands reached forward, to steady her.

"Sorry."

She looked into the face of a tall young man, with dark hair.

'Blimey, those look nice.' she thought. He had fascinating eyes. The irises seemed to be white, with slight shades of a light grey colour, which gave both eyes a sparkling effect. The outer edges were dark lines. He removed his hands from her shoulders.

"It's okay, thanks to you, I didn't get wet." Smiling up at him, she extended her hand. "Hi I am Tonks, new trainee Auror."

They shook hands. "Tonks ? That's an extraordinary name. Mine is Connor, I am a junior Auror."

"Nice to meet you and yeah... it's actually my last name." She replied. "You seem to have a different accent !?"

"Yes, that's because I am American." He scratched the short stubbles of his chin beard.

"Cool. But what do you do here then ?" Tonks asked curiously. "Is there no Auror training available in America ?"

He smirked at her directness. "Well, there is, but the British Auror Department is known as one of the best, worldwide."

"Huh. I didn't know that."

He shrugged. "Always liked Great Britain, so it wasn't a hard decision to come over here, when I wanted to start with the training."

After a short pause, he continued. "What's your first name then ?"

'Of course he had to ask that ! Thanks again mum and dad for that _lovely_ name of mine.'

"My first name," she sighed, "is Nymphadora. Forget about it immediately and leave it at Tonks, okay ?"

He chuckled. "Alright."

'Connor seems really nice. Yes, yes yes !'

"So Connor, 'wanna be my new victim ?"

He frowned. "Victim ? For what ?"

Grinning, she replied. "I've got hundreds, no, thousands of questions that just neeeeeed to be answered. If you got time for that."

"Fair enough, Tonks." He emphasised her name, but not in a negative way. "Let's move over there."

She followed him and they took a seat in the lowest row of the terrace.

He leaned back in his seat to eye her expectantly. "Fire away."

"Gosh, where to start...oh I think I have it. Right. How many junior Aurors are there ?"

"Currently five, including me. Two are in their last year, three in their second."

"And you ?" she asked, looking more curious, if that was even possible.

He smiled. "Second year."

"Does it happen often, that classes need to be cancelled ?"

"Now and then. Hard to determine what you mean by _often_. Around here," he gestured to the entrance doors, leading to the office, "you'll never know what happens next."

"What do you do usually, when classes get cancelled ?"

"You mean, when I don't get pestered with questions by curious young ladies ?"

She rolled her eyes playfully and he grinned in return. "Usually, I'll grab a book and do self study for certain courses. Just wait a few weeks and you'll saint your free time. There'll always be something useful to do."

"And the others ? What do they do ?"

"The third years, Nolan and Judy are actually a couple. Yes," he nodded as he noticed her raised eyebrows,"it was quite a 'shock' to the Department. There hasn't been a hotter topic around here for weeks, when they made it official last year."

"Is that allowed ? I mean, they are kind of colleagues and all that."

"True thing. There were many official discussions. No rule states, that colleagues mustn't be romantically involved. It's only forbidden when it interferes with the ability to do the job."

"Ah I see. And... what were their names again ?"

"Nolan and Judy."

"Thanks. So Nolan and Judy spend lots of time on their own I suppose ?"

"Yes. And before you can ask, " he smirked once more, "Steve and Glenn are the other two guys. They're best mates and do all their stuff together. Mostly, they are playing Quidditch in their free time."

"Okay." For a moment she seemed to be deep in thoughts. 'Sounds like he is hanging around alone most of the time.'

"What, you're finished already ?"

"Ha-Ha. Not quite. I'd really like to know... what this mentorship thing is about."

Now Connor's eyebrows rose up high. "Where did you hear about that ?"

She frowned. "Well...Dawlish has mentioned it to Kingsley yesterday. I didn't really get it though."

"What did he say in particular ?"

"He told Kingsley to add a form to Gerry's file. He is the other trainee Auror."

Connor leaned forward. "What ? He took over the mentorship of the other trainee ?"

Tonks shrugged. "I don't know for sure. Dawlish said he would sign it or something."

"Wicked. Then he is his mentor now." He scratched his chin, staring off into space.

"Yeah, but what does it mean ?"

He thought for a moment. "It's very special and hasn't occurred for a while. You get lots of advantages by having a mentor. The mentor himself is free to reject upcoming cases. He is allowed to stay at the Department, to teach his protégé, when his or her classes would otherwise be cancelled. In return, you kind of become your mentor's assistant. He can assign you tasks, even in your course time. He can also decide on giving private courses whenever he wants. I was just wondering, " he fixed his eyes on Tonks again, "what did the boy do on his first day, to impress Dawlish that much ?"

Tonks thought about what he had been saying. "Looks like Gerry is Dawlish's nephew."

"Mhhh. I see. But that shouldn't be the only reason for establishing a mentorship, you know. At least in my opinion."

She shrugged. "I don't know. Thanks a lot for explaining anyway."

'Was that the reason for Gerry, being upset this morning ? I've seen Dawlish leaving when I came in. Was he angry that his classes got cancelled and Dawlish didn't stay to teach him ?'

"A Knut for your thoughts."

"Huh ?" She had been staring at her feet, lost in thoughts.

"Are you always such a brooder ?" he arched an eyebrow at her.

"No, not really. One could call me hyperactive at times." That caused him to chuckle.

Suddenly, their comfortable conversation got interrupted. A patronus appeared in front of them. It was a huge grizzly bear, opening the mouth to growl. "Come to practice room." The silvery shape vanished as sudden as it had appeared.

Tonks was surprised. "Merlin's balls ! Didn't know you could make them talk !" That was the first patronus she had ever seen, but she read about it before.

Connor got up. "Yes, it's a useful way to communicate."

"And quite cool !"

He looked over his shoulder, smiling again. "That too."

"Whose was it Connor ?" They made their way over to the doors.

"You'll find out soon enough." he teased and with that, he disappeared into the men's locker room.

* * *

Moments later, Tonks entered the practice room for the first time. Kingsley had explained that the room contained a certain amount of magic, and could change itself to suit to various utilisation. However, she didn't really get what he had been trying to explain, but she was sure that she would find out sooner or later.

Tonks took a look around. There was no one in here, except for Connor, leaning against the wall to her right with his shoulder, arms crossed in front of his chest. Their eyes met.

"Doesn't look too magical I think. Just an ordinary, empty room, plastered with several mats on the floor." She claimed.

Connor smiled at her. "Just wait until later and it will look like a classroom with a couple of desks and chairs, or like a lab."

"So it wasn't a joke ? The room can really change it's shape ?" He nodded once. "Right. Now, for whom are we waiting Connor? And where did you leave your robe ? Thought we were supposed to wear them around the department."

"Yepp. But we won't need them now, looks like we're going to duel."

She frowned. "How do 'ya know that ?"

"It's a simple assumption." He sounded amused. 'I cannot shake off the feeling, that he knows something I don't.'

Tonks got the answer to her question seconds later, as Alastor Moody stepped inside the practice room. "Wands out." He grumbled. He leaned onto his wooden stick and was fixing Connor with his natural eye and Tonks with the magical one. The latter was a bit surprised. 'Mhh. Connor doesn't look surprised at all, so he expected Moody to come. Did he recognise the patronus' voice or something !?'

She watched Connor push himself from the wall, drawing his wand quickly, and did the same. Moody grumbled again. "Try to disarm each other. Counting down now. 3..."

"..2.."

'What !? Awesome... my movement is restricted with those robes.' she thought slightly annoyed.

"..1... GO !"

Tonks decided to throw up a shield first. "Protego." The spell covered her but nothing happened. Connor pointed with his wand at Tonks but didn't perform any magic. 'Huh ?' she frowned and concentrated on holding up the shield. He took some small steps towards her. She backed up instead.

Moody coughed behind of her. She got distracted in that moment and her shield slipped. "Expelliarmus !" Connor's spell hit and her wand flew to the other side of the room.

"Never lose your focus !" the Auror scolded her. "Again. 3..." Tonks' wand lay still far away. 'Damn.' She sprinted to catch it in time.

"..2.."

Tonks jumped forward...

"..1.."

...and landed on her knees.

"..GO !"

Fingers embraced around the wand a tiny bit too late. "Expelliarmus." She lost it again.

"You wasted your time, girl. In battle you have to get your wand back as quickly as possible !" Moody barked.

"Okay." She mumbled, while getting back up to her feet. Meanwhile, her face had blushed deeply. Connor had catched her wand this time and approached her, smiling encouragingly. "Don't ya worry. You'll get used to it." He whispered, only for her to hear.

Tonks gave a small smile back at him, as she took her wand from his outstretched hand.

The men's entrance door opened again and two young men joined them, greeting with a short "Hello." She eyed the newcomers with interest. Both were tall, broad-shouldered and had brown hair.

'That must be...'

"Glenn and Steve." Connor told her quietly. She nodded. 'So I guessed right.'

He continued his explanation, as Moody turned to face the two men. "Steve is the bearded one."

"Thanks."

He smirked. "It's alright."

"About time. You two practise stunners today. Move over there." Moody pointed at a corner. Suddenly, his head snapped around and he scrutinised Connor and her. "Did I tell you to stop ? Continue !"


End file.
